If you grew up in the generation I did, then you will surely remember, with great reverence, The Real World on MTV. Whether it was the first season (which I watched) or the 11th season in Chicago (Where I lived at the time and bumped into MTV filming more than once), The Real World started it all.
With Netflix coming up with their own sexy reality content, their newest installment “Tweet Somethings:Austin”, they just went straight for the REAL WORLD template.
We start with meeting the diverse eight twenty somethings, living in 2 separate houses, boys and girls, but sharing a backyard and pool. There’s the gay guy, the bi girl, the black kids, and a latino, the indian, and of course, the white, corn-feed, southern, (maybe red-neck) white boy.
Don’t expect any tensions between this diverse group, as in 2021 “woke” culture, everything and everyone are “a-okay” with one another. No talk of race, or different cultures, we are living in a John Lennon world where, even if there were tensions, one does not talk of such things. In a Get-Z world, we all live in harmony.
Not to say this is a bad thing, it’s refreshing to see people of all groups, cultures and races live together in harmony, it just makes a reality series a little bit… boring.
In an ironic twist of “what goes around comes around”, Gen-Zer’s are rebooting the free love of the 60’s, without the pesky drugs. Now they just fuck because they can, not because they are high on LSD.
Sparks fly immediately with the hottest of the group, setting up the “will they or won’t they” story line, leading to the eventual consequences of “hook-up” culture. It’s all entertaining enough, and as a reality lover, this one satisfies.
The heart of the cast is the two “outsiders”, Natalie, the curvy Latina from Miami and KeKe, the just out gay from Arkansas. If you every had the theory that the pretty people of the world get the biggest breaks in life, this show proves it. The struggle is real for these two, as they try to figure out why things just fall into their roommates laps as they continue to fail. “What’s wrong with us?” they ask each other lamenting under the covers. Nothing kids. You just didn’t win the genetic lottery. Fuck the pretty people!
Within weeks, Bruce, the southern white kid, gets a job offer from a minor league baseball team because he LOOKS the part, and after procrastinating for MONTHS, at the last minute, Kamari the black model gets representation based solely on his abs. Only Abby, the pretty white girl, does not get a bartending gig, and seems perplexed by this, not because she clearly has no skills, but because she clearly thinks she should have gotten the job because she looked “so cute” behind the bar.
As an old white man, I bring different perspective to the show, and as much as I liked this cast, it is clear to me that absolutely NONE (save one late arrival) wanted to actually WORK. One cast member actually LEAVES THE SHOW to avoid work and run back home to Mommy & Daddy. These are the LAZIEST people I have ever seen! Hardly anyone has a vehicle, and for 8 weeks, none of them actually pursue a job, but everyone of them complain of having no money.
Now, obviously they got PAID, bur probably not until weeks or months after wrapping the show. And yet, it seems like they do nothing on a day to day basis, besides going to the gym and working out.
The show is set up a BIT different than The Real World, as each show is encapsulated into a one week time frame. First show is Week 1, second show is Week 2, and so on. I hasten to think that this was a post-production decision, because trying to get about 30 minutes of drama out of a week, seemed like a chore for the editors. On more than one occasion, I spied them using the same “confessional” clip repeatedly.
There are some nice “coupleing” twists, and more that a few awkward conversations, but if you are looking for high-reality-drama, this ain’t it. However, if you are looking for a little “real world” reality in your life, without all the “Circle” twists, or “Two Hot to Handle” hot people, this reality show will cleanse the pallet.
It’s fun and light, and a good time. Just try to suppress the urge of shaking your TV and saying “What are you doing with your life!” Ahh, the twenties. We’ve all been there.
